Broom



E. SEA-W.

(No Model.)

BROOM.

No. 501,370. Patentd July 11', 1893.,

UNrrn STATES ATENT Fries,

EDGAR SHAW, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS.

BROOM.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 501,370, dated July 11,1893.

Application filed May 25, 1893.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR SHAW, of Swain pscott, in the county of Essexand State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovementin Brooms; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention has for its main object to provide a means for lighteningthe draft, and, consequently, lessening the hand labor in the use of theordinary straw broom in common use, and tothis main end and object myinvention consists in a device adapted to be applied to every strawbroom, and operatingto lessen the frictional contact of the broom withthe carpet, or floor, by the intervention of anti-friction rollerscarried by said device; all substantially as will be hereinafter morefully explained and as will be most particularly pointed out in theclaims of this specification.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my improvement relates tounderstand and practice the same, either in the precise form of deviceherein shown, or under some modification of my invention, I will nowproceed to more fully describe my improvement, re-

' ferring by letters to the accompanying drawings which form part ofthis specification, and in whichI have shown myinvention carried out inthat form of device, which I have so far practically employed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary strawbroom having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2, isa section of thebroom, and attached devices, taken on the dotted line 0:, 0c, of Fig. 1.

In both figures the same part will be found always designated by thesame letter of ref erence.

A represents the straw, or bodyportion of an ordinary broom, such asvery common in the market and in general use, and provided, as usual,with a handle B, a portion of which is broken away in the drawings, inorder that the remaining partof the broom may be on a larger scale.

The device which I apply to the broom for the purpose of effectuating myinvention, is composed, as shown, of a metallic, or sheet metal band-like portion 0, which encom- Serial No, 475,415. (No model.)

passes the strawsof the broom, when properly placed in position, asshown, and is provided with a centrally projecting shank on one side ofthe broom, marked D, said shank having a series of oblong perforationse, some shank), which is forced cross-wise through the upper portion ofthe body of the broom, as clearly illustrated, and there fastened inplace by a thumb-nut h, the said metallic shank f being formed with apermanent collar g, and a detachable collar 9 between which collars thestraw of the body-portion of the broom is clamped by the action of thenut h. On that side of the encircling, or embracing, band C, from whichthe shank D projects, are arranged two caster stands E, each of whichcarries a small anti-friction roller, or caster-wheel m, and the sizesand arrangement of the devices shown are such, it will be seen, thatwhen the anti-friction device is applied to the broom, as shown, theseantifriction rollers m, m, will be located quite near to the lower end,or working edge of the be somewhat embedded in the said mass of straw,all as clearly illustrated.

When a broom with my anti-friction device thus applied is used insweeping, the broom is, of course, held in the proper position to bringthe anti fricti'on rollers into contact with the floor, or carpet, to beswept, and the function and effect of said anti-friction rollers are tolessen the draft of the broom, and enable the sweeper to dothe samework, with a vastly less expenditure of power, or hand labor.

In using a broom with this attachment, not only is all dragging orfrictional strain; or, so to speak, the draft of the broom, lessened, bypreventing an undue portion of the straw from coming into rubbingcontact with the floor, or carpet; but the sweeping operation isactually improved, or the floor, or carpet, swept cleaner, than when thebroom be used with any such attachment, and a greater amount of laborexpendedv in the sweeping operation. Furthermore, as will be readilyunderstood, the straws of the broom being bound together, or encircled,so to speak, by the band-like portion 0 of the device shown,

one of which is adapted to engage with the protruding bent end f of awire spindle, or

mass of straw composing the broom, and will the efficacy of the workingportion, or lower end of the broom is increased, and, at the same timethe broom will wear better, or last longer. When, however, the workingend, or portion, of the broom body wears down sufficiently to interferewith the successful operation of the broom, the device shown isadjusted, by setting the encircling band 0 higher up on the body of thebroom, and effecting an engagement with a new and lower one of theoblong apertures e, which as shown, engage with the bent end f of thepermanently arranged shank f. This shank, it will be understood, ishowever, readily removable from the broom, so thatwhen it may be desiredto apply the anti-friction device to another, or new, broom, the userhas simply to completely unscrew the thumb-nut it, so as to permit theescape of the washer g then pull out the collared shankf, and insert thedevice in the manner and at about the location shown) in another broom.

In applying the device to a new broom, the handle of the broom is, ofcourse, first inserted, or passed through the band-like portion 0, whichis then slipped down over the shank, and upper portion of the broombody, and into the proper position, in which an engagement is theneffected between one of the oblong perforations e, and the protrudingbent end f of the shankf, and in effecting this engagement between theperforated shank D, and the protruding end of the device f, the latteris, of course, turned into the positionindicated in dotted lines at Fig.1, to permit the bent end f to pass through one of the perforations c,after which the shank f is given a quarter turn to bring it into theposition shown in full lines in said figure, and thus prevent anyaccidental disengagement of the parts. Whenever it may be desired toadjust the anti-friction device, by setting the band-portion 0 higher upon the broom, this shank f is, of course, again turned to permit a freedisengagement from it of the perforated shank D, and, thereupon, theband-like portion 0 is pulled down past the lower end, or workingportion of the broom to release the latter therefrom without bending, orbreaking, any of the straws; after which the device is reapplied, in thesame manner in which it would be applied to a new broom, as heretoforeexplained.

In making the anti-friction device shown, I'have, in practicing myinvention so far, manufactured the device of sufiiciently stitf sheetiron, making the band-like portion 0 of one piece, preferably seamed onits edges to give itstiffness and rigidity, with the shank portion Dcomposed of a separate piece of sheet metal secured to the band-likeportion 0 by rivets 2', as plainly shown. And I have made the casterstands E, each of a single piece of sheet metal, cut out and formed intothe shape shown, and secured by rivets 1', as illustrated, to theband-like portion 0 of the anti-friction device.

The rollers m I have made of wood; but, of course, these stands maybedift'erentlyformed, and the rollers be of different material, and thedetail construction of the anti-friction device may be changed invarious ways, without departing from the pith of my invention, which isbased upon the idea of the application to the broom of an attachmentprovided with rollers, which partially support the weight of the broom,and take the pressure to which the broom is subjected by the sweeper, inforcing it down on to, and dragging it along over, the carpet, or floor,to be swept, this lightening the draft, and at the same time, improvingthe operation of the sweeping implement.

I, therefore, wish it to be understood thatI do not limit my claim ofinvention to any precise device of the construction shown and described;but,

Having so fully described my invention that those skilled in the art canpractice the same either in the form in which I haveso far carried itinto effect or by the use of an anti-friction device differing indetailconstruction from that shown and described, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A device adapted to be applied to an ordinary straw broom, providedwith anti-friction rollers, or draft-sustaining casters, and adapted tobe held in place on the body-portion of the broom, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

2. An anti-friction device adapted to be applied to the body-portion ofa straw broom, formed, or provided, with anti-friction rollers operatingas described, and means for detachably and adj ustably holding theanti-friction devices at dilferent points on the body of the broom, asthe latter wears away, substantially as hereinbefore described.

3. In combination with an ordinary straw broom an anti-frictiondevice,having an encircling, or binder-like ban d-portion 0, within which thestraw of the broom is confined, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of May,1893.

- EDGAR SHAW.

In presence of- M. E. FOXTEN,

N. A. QUEENAN.

